Aspiring football players, ranging in age from 8 to 17 years old, hit the field Friday at Grant High School in Sacramento, but it wasn’t improving their football skills that coaches were primarily concerned with.

The second annual Bigger Than Sports Youth Football Camp, put on by former NFL player Darius Turner, aimed to teach players about succeeding on and off the field.

Other NFL players helping out included all-pro running back Kimble Anders, from the Kansas City Chiefs, and Stevie Johnson, of the San Diego Chargers.

But it was a player who never quite made it all the way to the pros who earned the most attention: Shawn Rodgers, a Sacramento police lieutenant.

“You have to do hard work, not only on the football field but also across the street, across the field, in the classroom,” Rodgers said.

When football didn’t work out after college, the degree Rodgers earned in school helped him land a job with the Sacramento Police Department. Twenty-eight years later he’s helping high school students realize the importance of succeeding in the classroom.

The two-day camp is free for participants. Nearly $8,000 in funding from the NFL and a private donor make it possible. For Turner, who now works as an insurance agent in Stockton, it’s about setting up the kids for success.

“A majority of these kids out here will never play DI, DII, DIII football, but that’s OK, you have other options,” Turner said.

He’s been pleasantly surprised by the high school students stepping up to help out the younger ones.

“I’m impressed by how some of these bigger kids are helping the younger kids,” Turner said. “That’s leadership, but they don’t realize they’re being leaders right now, but they’re leaders.”

Grant High School senior Jonathan Williams is one of those leaders. He’s happy knowing the lessons he’s teaching the kids now will stick with them later on.

“I think it could affect them a lot in the future, help them to be better players and understand what they have to do once they get to high school football,” he said.

Many of the student-athletes at the camp are from lower-income neighborhoods. Turner said he hopes the camp gives them an opportunity to see beyond football.

“I thought my only option was football,” Turner said. “I want to let them know that your chances of changing your situation are much greater with books than with the ball.”